Natural
by PhantomhiveHost
Summary: Naked. Ugly. That's how Kitagawa Megumi feels when she takes off her makeup. She becomes vulnerable, and her walls fall down. No one has seen her this way for years, but is that about to change? When Takemura Kai enters the picture, she inexplicably agrees to reveal the Megumi behind the makeup mask. (KaiGumi) Oneshot.


"You're vain as hell, Kitagawa Megumi," Kai said suddenly. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. He'd taken to walking her home lately, and they were on the way to her house after meeting Yamato, Mei, and the others to go for karaoke.

She flipped her hair and smirked at him, stopping and turning to face him. "Am I, now?"

He raised his eyebrows and said, "Yes. You are obsessed with your looks beyond belief, and I have absolutely no idea why."

"Because it's my job to look good." She sighed. "My income comes from my appearance. If I don't keep it up, I won't get by." She started walking again, and he followed her, quickly catching up and falling into step with her.

"Who said you needed to work to keep it up?" he said, "After all, plenty of girls have appealing characteristics besides their bodies."

"Society. My mom. My so-called 'friends'-" she paused to make air quotes, "-and of course, the agency."

"You would look fine without makeup, Kitagawa. In fact, you might even look better. More natural," he said.

"You so obviously haven't seen me without even a little makeup-I wear the stuff nearly all the time. But if you _really _want to be the judge of that, come in for a while and I'll take it off." She swallowed hard; the last person to see her naked face was her mom, and look where that relationship had gone.

He blinked in surprise and coughed to clear his throat. "Sure. If you want me to, I mean."

"Why not? We're already here anyway," she said, turning into the building and walking upstairs to her apartment. He followed her and stepped inside after her.

She set her handbag down by the door and took off her shoes. "Give me a minute or two to wash it all off," she said, heading into the bathroom.

"Uh, sure," he said nonchalantly. She shut the door, and he looked around the apartment, taking it in slowly. _So this is where she lives, _he thought. It was organized well; a few magazines laid in a stack on a small table, and her kitchen was small and neat. There was a door that led to another room, presumably her bedroom, and a closet door was open, revealing her coats and shoes. He spotted a _kotatsu _just outside the kitchen and went to sit under it. He spotted a small wall entirely covered in posters of all of the _Dessert_ models-that is, all of them but Megumi herself.

She came out of the bathroom, makeup-free and changed into a black tank top and sweatpants. Kai turned to look at her and blushed slightly. _Beautiful,_ he thought. He pushed the sentiment from his mind, though, and asked, "Why are there pictures of the other models but not of you?"

"Motivation," she said simply, "to get me to work to become like them."

"Listen to yourself, Kitagawa! You're a successful model with tons of supporters. You don't have to push yourself to be just like them because you're already better than them!" He gently held her by the arms and pulled her towards him, making her look him in the eyes. "Kitagawa, you're beautiful, with or without makeup."

She averted his gaze, looking to the posters on the wall. "You wouldn't know. You're no model," she mumbled.

"I'm not, that much is true. But I look at them and I look at you, and to be quite honest with you, they just aren't as perfect as you." He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "Kitagawa, you're amazing and don't even see it."

Her cheeks turned a gentle shade of pink as she turned her head to look at him again. "Amazing?" It came out as barely a whisper, but he heard her.

He smiled. "Beyond amazing, actually."

"Kai-kun," she said. She swallowed hard and took a step backwards, only to trip over the edge of the _kotatsu_ and fall back towards the table. _Shit, _she thought, bracing herself for her head to hit the wood.

But it never touched. A hand was holding the back of her head, and another clutched the small of her back. Kai stood over her, worry etched into his face. "Are you alright, Kitagawa?" he asked. Her hands were on his chest, pushing him upwards. He pulled her up with him, a bit too forcefully, and she fell into his chest.

She didn't move for a few seconds, then said, "I can feel Kai-kun's heart. It's very fast."

"I-um-is it? I'm sorry," he said. He wrapped his arms fully around her, then, and held her there.

"It's nothing," she said, returning the hug. _Kai-kun is warm. He feels...safe._

"I think I'm in love with you," Kai said after a few beats of silence.

Megumi looked up to meet his eyes. "Are you?" she asked. It came out as a whisper, and he barely heard the question.

"Yes. Kitagawa, you're the only person I feel so intensely for and I don't know why but I literally cannot go a day without you on my mind. So, more than anything, I. Love. You."

Speechless for the first time in her life, Megumi did the only thing she could: she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, the trace of a smile lingering on her lips.

A few seconds later, she broke the kiss and said, "By the way, it's just Megumi. Not Kitagawa."

"Well then, Megumi, would you like to go on a date with me?" He grinned. It was a goofy smile, not the smirk he gave Yamato or the kind smile he gave Mei.

She kissed him again, more gently. "Of course. Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked.

"I would if I could, but I really can't tonight. Can I call you though?"

Megumi smiled. "Of course," she said, opening the door to her apartment.

Kai went to the door, ready to leave, but stopped as he was about to step out, pulling Megumi into another small kiss before leaving the apartment completely. "Good night, Megumi," he said, walking down the stairs and into the night, a goofy grin stuck on his face.

**Huzzah, I'm writing again! Leave me a review, please :)**


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